Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville softball team posted a pair of wins in tonight’s doubleheader against Saint Louis, defeating the Billikens by 5-3 in the opener before taking a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.

Sophomore Katie Sears extended her hitting streak to five-games, notching a triple in each of tonight’s games as she ended 2-for-7 at the plate with two RBI and one run scored. Freshman Victoria Dellorto and senior Maggie Little also ended the night with a pair of hits.

The Aces (13-28) will resume Missouri Valley Conference action this weekend, traveling to Omaha, Neb., for a three-game series against Creighton. The Aces will face off against the Blue Jays in a doubleheader on Saturday before completing the series with a single game on Sunday.

Game 1: UE 5, SLU 3
The Aces jumped on board early to start game one, taking advantage of two SLU infield errors to grab a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With one out in the inning, sophomore Tamara Robey forced a throwing error by SLU shortstop Jessica Van Nostrand, advancing to second on the overthrow. After Robey moved to third on a stolen base, freshman Kayla Fortner worked a walk to give the Aces runners on the corners. Fortner then advanced to second on a stolen base before Billiken fielding error allowed Robey to cross the plate safely.

The Billikens evened it up in the top of the third as a leadoff single and a one-base error put Van Nostrand  on second to start the frame. A sacrifice bunt moved her to third before Jessica Buschjost hit a double down the left field line to score the run and tie the game at 1-all.

Little opened the bottom of the fourth with a single up the middle before sophomore Kacey Rogers entered the game as a pinch-runner. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dellorto, Rogers reached third on a single by sophomore Niki Rahming, but an overthrow to the plate allowed Rogers to come home safely as Rahming moved over to second. Junior Halie Malone was hit by pitch in the next at bat to put runners on first and second with still one out on the board, prompting a SLU pitching change. Reliever Hannah Huebbe replaced Kelcie Matesa in the circle, striking out pinch-hitter Kendall Kautz for the second out. Sears then hit a tough infield grounder, reaching on a fielder’s choice to loading the bases for UE. A wild pitch then allowed Rahming to score, extending the Aces’  lead to 3-1 before another strikeout ended the inning.

Saint Louis quickly answered in the top of the fifth, using a leadoff walk and an infield hit to put runners at first and second. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third before Laura Bohning hit a screamer off the arm of UE starter Sarah Patterson. Second baseman senior Amy Gaertner fielded the deflection to get the out at first, but not before Kerri Dockins scored from third. Alyson Brand followed with a soft pop-up in the infield that landed just in front of second base for a hit, scoring Buschjost and tying the game up at 3-all.

Dellorto started the bottom of the sixth with a bunt single before moving to second on a ground out by Rahming. A SLU fielder’s choice allowed Malone to reach first as Dellorto was able to beat the throw to third to put runners on the corners. A Huebbe strikeout put two outs on the board, but Sears delivered her first triple of the day, belting a line drive to right center to bring in both runners and give UE the  5-3 lead.

Junior Sarah Patterson improved to 7-14 on the year, allowing three runs on six hits while picking up four strikeouts in the complete-game victory.

Game 2: UE 5, SLU 2
The Aces used two singles and an error to push two runs across in the bottom of the second to take an early lead in game two. Dellorto and Little sparked a two-out rally with back-to-back singles to give UE runners on the corners. Malone then hit a chopper back to SLU starter Julian Austin, but Austin overthrew first base, allowing both runners to cross the plate on the error.

Trailing 2-0, the Billikens were able to manufacture a pair of runs to tie the game in the top of the fourth. An infield error allowed Harcar to lead off the inning at first, before moving to second on a fly out to right field. After a walk put runners at first and second for SLU, Rachel Faletto singled up the middle to bring in the Billikens’ first run of the game. An infield ground out then put runners at second and third before another single plated the tying run.

The game remained tied 2-all until the bottom of the fifth, when the Aces used three hits to score three runs as they reclaimed the lead. Little struck out to start the inning, but a drop third strike allowed her to reach first with no outs recorded. Rogers, who pinch-ran for Little, moved to second on a sacrifice by Malone.  Kautz followed with a pinch-hit walk to give UE runners at first and second before Sears belted her second triple, scoring one run before the second out was recorded as junior Brianna Villanueva, who re-entered for Kautz, was gunned down at the plate for out number two. Robey followed with a single through the right side to bring home Sears before Fortner notched her first hit of the night, scoring Robey to give UE the 5-2 lead.

Sophomore Taylor Perry (4-6) was given the complete-game win in the circle, scattering two runs on just four hits while striking out four Billiken batters.